Sunday, April 18, 2010

Christopher Dudine
Dr. Hope
English 91
4-17-10

My turning point



When I started working at FedEx it was around October , I already had a day job and a evening job. My evening job was at a grocery store called Stop and Shop; most people in the area have been there or saw it. The other job was roofing that’s were I made most of my money . Work as a roofer has its bad seasons so for us it is the winter time . Wouldn’t you guess most of the holidays and family birthdays are in the winter. So with Christmas around the corner I am going to have to find another income from November to April. At the time I thought that Stop and Shop was going to be able to support me on a smaller income but I would still need another job. Before I new it I had no more roofing jobs. Stop and Shop was just extra money to play with I was only working like 20 hours a week making minimum wage and with my car payments and insurance I would never come close paying for that, not including all my other bills. The next day I started my such, of curse I started on the internet and then I went and bought three newspapers at the local Wawa.


I had no luck on the internet, I had a few leads with a couple of jobs but nothing ever took. Then like a blessing I saw MAKE EXRTIA CASH for Christmas, it was in the new news paper FedEx. I was pretty happy that they were looking for people because I always figured that FedEx and UPS were great company’s to work for. Steady job with benefits and great opportunities to move to greater positions in the company. I did some research on FedEx and how far it is from were I lived and how much I would be making and the hours. The job was like a half hour from me and the hours were from four am to seven am. It was a three hour shift from Monday to Saturday. I would make about three hundred and fifty a week to start.

It was November first when I went to the FedEx building and got an application. It took about twenty minuets to do. I handed it in and the hiring manager who said he would get back to me in a few day. I couldn’t wait anymore so I call the headquarters about two day later and asked if he had checked it out, well the sectary answered and said he would get back to me by Friday it was Tuesday. I did as he said I waited till Monday I gave him a couple of more day to look it over. Monday I went down to the headquarters were I filled out the application, I no I could have just called but I really wanted and need this job. I figured it would be better to show my face then just another phone call. The next day the manager called to schedule the interview. The managers name was Richard and he was going over the terms of what I had to do. The time I had to show up, my hourly pay and other benefits of the job. He has said to me that if I was good at the position it would be possible to stay after the holiday season, meaning I would have another steady job.


I would be able to get health insurance and a 401k after a year and the best they would get me %15 off my phone bill. After all that he had asked me “ Is this your only job “ I said “no I have two other jobs” I explained to him that I would only be working at Stop and Shop part-time at night and I was barley getting one day in a week with roofing, he thought I was crazy. When Christmas comes we will be moving a lot faster and the work would be heaver and longer hours . I think he was schoked to see a kid my age try to handle all of this responsibility , and gave me a shot.
Then after the phone call I started to think more about how am I going to handle all these hours’ of work ? Would I be able to juggle three jobs a day with barely any sleep ? All I could think of was the money and what my dad said “ When I was a your age I worked three jobs and got only four hour’s of sleep a night sometime nun”. Now when my dad was my age he had to work that hard because he had to help and support his mother and sister. I said to my self if he could do it so could I but I only have to support my self. In a way he inspired me to do it . It was only going to be for a little bit with all three jobs cause by mid November I was barely roofing.. For the next couple of weeks I would wake up at seven am and go roofing from 8a.m- 5:30pm then run home shour change and go to stop and shop from 7 pm to 10:30 or 11pm some nights. I would then get off and go home relax and go to bed till 3 a.m. I would wake up for FedEx get there by 4am and work till 7a.m. leve there and go straight to my roofing job. This was going on till December by that time I had a few dollars saved up and I was paying my bills off . I would be at the top of my game and feeling good. I felt like I had it all, good money and beautiful girlfriend and a nice little apartment with her I said to me self life couldn’t get any better. I finely felt like things were starting to come together for me.

The first day I started at four am. But I had to be up and out by three am.
I made it there by three forty five a little early to make a good impression. When I walked in it looked like everyone has been up since the day before at that point I still haven’t seen were all the shipping is being done. I only have been in the office, when I first get there right away Richard has me fill out a bunch of papers , w-2s , getting an ID for me to clock in and then putting me in the system. An hour later I went into the wear house. During all this we were talking he was asking me “why are you working all these jobs and are you shour you will be able to make it on time every day“, cause if your late more then four time you will be fired company policy. I sad am doing it for the holidays and I would only be working for the reoffering company only 3-4 days a week if that . So it wouldn’t be to bad for me “it really was not that much” just early mornings and I don’t have a problem getting up in the morning.
During that we walked into the ware house it was like a mad house . It was like opening a door to a hole new world. People were running everywhere box’s coming off the truck on the belt sorted in size and height “boxes were coming from all over”, Regular mail was separated into plastic bins for the truck drivers to pick up., each bin had a number for each truck. And all the boxes are separated to three different conveyer belts, waiting for me to sort.
That is were I came in I would take the boxes from the belt and put them on the palate to be picked up by the drivers. I did this for one week straight and then they asked me to move to unloading the trucks on to the conveyer belt for the employees to separate. Shortly after that move they asked me to alternate bough positions and they liked me there cause I was a lot faster then most of the older men working there. Before I new it I was working too positions in a matter of three weeks.

There I was I had it all I had three jobs making good money and no sleep, This went on for almost two months but like they say all good things come to an end. I would say four out of seven days a week I would be doing roofing and so some days I would have time to rest but every Monday to Saturday I was working at FedEx and five nights a week I was working at stop and shop. After a bout two and a half months of this I felt like I was going to die from so much work and no sleep. I just kept pushing my self to go longer I kept thinking to my self the harder I work and save my money the better off ill be for x mass. I think I mainly did it was to impress my girlfriend at the time. I just wanted for everything to work out for a change and not have to worry about everything else in my life I was trying to make a better life for my girlfriend and I.

One Rainey I had no roofing for the day so I slept late that morning after FedEx. I got up I took a shoure and got dressed to go out. I decided to treat my self for all the hard work so I got my self a nice pare of paints and shirt from the mall. I had something to eat and I started thing “is this really what I want”? Work night and day , break my back and fell like crap. I thought I might want to go back to college. I never really talked to any one about this nor did I ask anyone’s opinion. The only person I talked to about this was my girlfriend she has a right to know. She had always told me “do what makes me happy “At the time things between me and her weren’t to good we have been fighting a lot. Despite all the fighting she always had my back no matter what I decided she had my back. Within the next two months we broke up after being together for two years, I was up set that we were over but happy I didn’t have to here her complain! I miss here a lot and to this day I think of her. She was the first girl that I every lived with and she meant a lot to me she was my best friend and girlfriend.
After that I left the mall and was on my way home and I started dozing off at the weal and I pulled of and got a coffee, I thought I was okay to drive; I thought wrong! I ended up falling asleep at the wheel and racked my truck. I was so scared the airbags cam out and smoke from the airbags were all over my car. I had never had an accident so bad before. I jumped out the car to check the person I hit she was fine. Someone call the cops and before I new it there was cops and paramedics every were. I felt a little better. When the air bag came out it hit me in the eye and I couldn’t see out of it felt like my eye fell out. That was the scarcest moment of my life I didn’t no what was going on and there was none with me, my aunt came to my rescue I was so happy to see her face. That was my turning point I detent no it yet but I shortly found out.

That night I had to call FedEx and explain to them that I had an accident and I would not make it to work cause I had no car. Rich was very understanding and told me to call him when I find out when I would be able to return. I didn’t no what I was going to do I had no car and three jobs my car was my life and my income my source of transportation. I had to make a big decision should I stay and bust my back or go back to school. I decided to go back to school and get things going in my direction. Things would be a little easer living with my brother. At the time I was sleeping on my aunts couch she lived in new jersey I had no girlfriend and no car I felt like I had lost everything I worked so hard for. Making the decision to move to move in with my brother was a little easer. I did not like living on my aunts couch it was uncomfortable and I felt like a loser sleeping on her couch I had no room.



I made all the preparations to move in with my brother in Brooklyn . I called FedEx and said that I wisent going to be able to return . Rich said anytime I need my job back the door would be open. I call the roofer and said I would not be working this summer I told him that I was moving back to Brooklyn and starting school he was happy and mad ,mad cause I wasn’t going to work that summer but happy for me to be going back to school . Last but not least I went to stop and shop and got a transfer to Brooklyn. Know am living with my brother in his place
going to school and working night at stop and shop .I just hope I have mad the right dissection and that everything will finely work oui

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